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© npg/chasing mirrors collective, London, 2009

by faisal abdu’allah and the chasing mirrors collective

9 october 2009 – 10 january 2010

supported by November 2009 Issue 17

Manchester Square 3

Counterpoints Lost in the post; Black and blue; The Tory party misses its matrons; Standing on ceremony; Singing in the rain; Gang education; Mail and the Monarch 10 Columns On the contrary Lionel Shriver attacks the politicians who have broken their pension promises 17 Jurisprudence Joshua Rozenberg says the Tories won’t abandon human rights after all 18 Marketplace Tim Congdon resurrects the financial strategy of the Thatcher era 19 Living History Michael Burleigh uncovers the origins of counter-insurgency warfare 20 The Outsider Douglas Murray finds modern politics as empty as the antics on the Fourth Plinth 21 Points East & West Emanuele Ottolenghi argues that Europe should not forsake the Iranian people 22 European Eye Mara Delius in Dublin reflects on Ireland’s “Yes” to the Lisbon Treaty 23 The Mole Our insider reveals the frustrations of sitting on a jury 24 Little Platoons Impact Foundation Bangladesh 25 Dispatches Sarah Ruden writes from America about her battle against Google 26

COVER ILLUSTRATION byandrécariliho

Coverlines The fall of the Berlin Wall Seven minutes that shook the world Daniel Johnson recalls his part in the momentous events of 1989 36 A cry for freedom William Horsley on what became of the former East Germany 40

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Dialogue HowEuropean are the British? Politician David Heathcoat-Amory and writer Piers Paul Read clash over the UK’s future in the EU 30

In league with the extreme Right? Louis Amis goes in search of the English Defence League 44

Letters The cost of healthcare: The BBC and the US; Colonialism’s legacy 29

Features

The high price of patriotism Nick Cohen defends a whistleblower who exposed Islamism in the Foreign Office 42 A military solution for Afghanistan Amir Taheri believes in victory against the Taliban—but we must fight for it 48 The operation that can ruin your life Julie Bindel argues for a less casual attitude to sex-change surgery 52

Civilisation Critique Rüdiger Görner: Schiller and freedom 56 Books Allan Massie on Your Face Tomorrow 3: Poison, Shadow and Farewell by Javier Marias; John Preston on The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson; Bruce Boucher on Michelangelo: The Artist, the Man, and His Times by William E. Wallace; Andrew Roberts on Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother by William Shawcross; Hannah Stone on Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou; David Scott on 1688: The First Modern Revolution by Steve Pincus 59 Imagination Party Lines Daisy Waugh overhears gossip about leaders’ wives; Whatever by Peter Blegvad The Saga of Smit & Smule continues 66 Cosmos Neil Scolding thinks doctors should sometimes ignore ‘living wills’ 67 Television Nick Cohen finds the BBC’s lifeless Emma has little to do with Jane Austen 68 Film Peter Whittle is surprised by a film which ticks all of his anti-boxes 69 Music Jessica Duchen celebrates a day of silence that helps to rediscover music 71 Art Michael Prodger looks at the sacred sculptures of Spain’s Golden Age 72 Theatre Minette Marrin finds the economic meltdown too technical to dramatise 73

Text James MacMillan Music and Modernism: The Scottish composer takes on Pierre Boulez and his ageing avant garde 74 Drawing Board Barry Martin Paintings, drawings and sculpture 78 Overrated/Underrated Richard Goldstone by R. W. Johnson Anne Bayefsky by Julia Pettengill 80 Chess Dominic Lawson is stunned by Magnus Carlsen, Norway’s teenage prodigy 82

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Standpoint www.standpointmag.co.uk

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